February 17, 2005

Mark Jen Fired Google Employee Interview

Gelf interviewed the most famous ex-Google employee this week. It comes across that Mark is a young naive kid. I had no idea before that he was only 22 years old. But I'm sure he will land on his two feet from this experience.

That Friday, the same manager Jen had talked with previously called Jen back into his office. A human-resources officer was in the room when Jen entered. It was a termination meeting. “I was shocked,” said Jen. “I asked why.”

“At first, they beat around the bush,” Jen said. “But then they told me my blog had upset people and that I wasn’t a good fit. I asked them if there was anything I could do to change their minds, but it was a one-sided conversation. So I said ‘I’ll see you guys later.’”

It doesn't sound like Jen got much of severance, but he didn't sign a non-defamation agreement either. It's a sad commentary though on Google management as the company didn't even have a "blogging policy" to nail Mark on. This is from the company that actually OWNS Blogger.